Wait for the Lord; be of courage;Be strong and take heart today.Do not fear when foes attack you.Trust in God always.He will rescue you in times Of trouble and distress,He’ll comfort you in all ways As you trust Him with your life today.Trust in Him always.

God is with you; He’ll not leave you.You can always count on Him.He will fulfill all He promisedBefore you began.His word teaches you All that you need for this life.Let Him lead you. Open your heart;Let his truth envelope you today.Listen and obey.

Love your Lord God; follow Jesus.Repent of your sins today.Make Him your Lord and your master;Trust Him and obey.Follow Him where’er He leads youIn His service; be His witness,Telling others about Jesus’Price that He did payFor your sins always.

How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save?Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails.The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

I am most certain that most people in this world, at one time or another, have either thought or have expressed these questions. So, I think we can identify with Habakkuk’s concerns and his confusion. He prayed and prayed, but seemingly God was silent and did not answer. He couldn’t understand why God would allow injustice to prevail for such a long period of time, especially among the people of God. The society in which he lived appeared to be lawless and without remorse. Nothing seemed right or fair. What was good was spoken of as though it was evil, while what is evil was praised and admired.

I believe that we live in such a society here in America today, and perhaps other countries in this world live in similar situations. Those who are greedy for gain - who abuse, manipulate, lie to the people, deceive and go about killing, looting, and conquering are praised, adored and admired, while those who hold to the truth of the word of God are often chastised, ridiculed, ostracized, rejected, persecuted, falsely accused of wrong, and/or tagged as “intolerant, bigoted, hateful, unloving, treasonous, and/or monstrous.” And, this exists not only in high levels of our government and military, but this exists, sadly enough, within the confines of our churches here in America, and thus in our “Christian” homes, too.

Ruthless and Impetuous

“Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed.For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people,who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own.They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor.Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk.Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar.They fly like an eagle swooping to devour; they all come intent on violence.Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand.They mock kings and scoff at rulers.They laugh at all fortified cities; by building earthen ramps they capture them.Then they sweep past like the wind and go on— guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”

Today this describes these United States of America and their political and military allies. They comprise this New World Order which is conquering the nations of the world and now has its sights set on conquering the U.S.A. – its people and its form of government.

From early childhood on, the people of America have been taught to worship their form of government with hand over heart vowing absolute faithfulness, fidelity, loyalty, commitment, adherence and duty. Nowhere in scripture are we taught to worship our governments in this way. We must obey them, with Biblical exceptions, but we are not to bow to them or worship them, yet many Christians do, and the church promotes this kind of worship of government and military without question. Yet, how many actually take the time to research their own government and military and pray for discernment and understanding concerning their true nature and what they are really doing in these other nations of the world, including in our own? I believe we are the “Babylonians” of today.

Lord, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, you will never die.You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment; you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?You have made people like the fish in the sea, like the sea creatures that have no ruler.The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks, he catches them in his net,he gathers them up in his dragnet; and so he rejoices and is glad.Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet,for by his net he lives in luxury and enjoys the choicest food.Is he to keep on emptying his net, destroying nations without mercy?

This is where the “Catch-22” comes into play. Definition: “A situation presenting two equally undesirable alternatives; an illogical, unreasonable, or senseless situation” - http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catch-22. In other words, the solution to one form of evil is to bring judgment through a, perhaps, greater form of evil. Yet, God did this all throughout the OT history of his people, and he has promised through his prophets that he will do this again. His divine instruments of judgment now are the dragon (Satan), the beast and the false prophet. I have often seen this evil trio as our president Obama and his administration (the spider w/Obama as The Rattler), the global order (from the U.N.) and our military in conjunction with the international forces. So, this puts our nation (and other allied nations) in a unique position as both conquerors and those being conquered (from within).

I believe God has been promising judgment against his adulterous, idolatrous, rebellious, lukewarm, complacent, and unfaithful church for some time now, and as supported by the prophecies of old concerning these last days, and in particular in Rev. 2-3. Evil is reigning even within the church. The gospel of Jesus Christ is diluted to where it barely resembles the true gospel. Sin goes on unchecked. The house of prayer has been turned into a theatre for purposes of entertaining the world. Churches are following the gospel according to men over and above the word of God. Bible studies are being replaced by book studies written by mere humans and including human philosophies, and deleting the true gospel message. Churches are being built by humanistic marketing schemes, and the church has been turned into another big business. Way too much money is being spent on aesthetics, buildings, furnishings, marketing tools, advertising and the stage production (the show).

I also believe this judgment has already begun in nations across the globe and is now coming home to America’s home-front. Yet, God is still calling his people to repentance and to renewed faith in their God. And, he is calling us to stand strong in our faith, to not give way to fear and intimidation, but to keep on speaking the true words of the gospel of repentance and obedience to Christ Jesus and to his commands (see Mt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Luke 9:23-25; Eph. 4:17-24; Gal. 2:20; and Romans 6, et al).

Not Be Silent / An Original Work / December 3, 2012

Based off Psalm 30

O Lord my God, I’ll exalt You.I called for help, and You healed me.O Lord my God, You brought me from the grave. You spared me from hell.Sing to the Lord, you saints of His;Praise His holy name today.Weeping may remain for a night; Joy at break of day. Our debt He did pay!

O Lord my God, I said, “I will Ne’er be shaken.” Secure, I felt.O Lord my God, You forgave me.Confident I stand in You.When I could not see Your face I was dismayed. I called to You.O Lord, You are my help. You were merciful to me; By Your grace set free!

O Lord my God, I’m so thankful forSalvation through my Jesus.You turned wailing into dancing;Clothed me with Your joy today,That my heart may sing To You and not be silent. Praise Your name.O Lord my God, I will give You thanks forevermore. My Lord, I adore!